Learning empathy before they die
by digby
This is nice, but it's also another illustration of the fact that way too many conservatives only understand empathy when something terrible happens to them or one of their loved ones. Sometimes it takes them until they reach their old age:
One of the most partisan Republicans in the Senate, Oklahoma's Jim Inhofe, said Sunday that his "attitude" toward Senate Democrats has changed as a result of the outpouring of sympathy he received from colleagues after the death of his son. Perry Inhofe, 52, was killed in a plane crash in November.
"I probably shouldn't say this, but I seem to have gotten more -- well at least as many, maybe more -- communications from some of my Democrat friends," Sen. Inhofe told host David Gregory on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And I'm a pretty partisan Republican."
In the wake of his personal tragedy, Inhofe said, "all of a sudden the old barriers that were there -- the old differences, those things that keep us apart -- just disappear. It's not just a recognition that I know how much more important this is, but they do, too. And they look out. And they realize that you've lost someone. And that brings us closer together."
That's called being a decent human being. And you don't have to know someone personally to feel sympathy for them when they are in tragic circumstances. In fact, most normal people learn this when they are children. And those who consider themselves Christians, as Inhofe does, supposedly learn all about this compassion stuff in Sunday School.
Inhofe suggested the change is also likely to extend beyond personal dynamics to his work in the Senate. "I can't help but think when I'm confronting someone on something in which we disagree, I'll know how they responded to my loss. And how we got closer. And it'll stay that way," he said.
It's all about him.Which I think says everything you need to know about the conservative worldview.